


The Yule Ball

by Spectrespecs_vs_Wrackspurts



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Best Friends, F/M, Female Friendship, First Kiss, Relationship Advice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-13 00:36:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29768034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spectrespecs_vs_Wrackspurts/pseuds/Spectrespecs_vs_Wrackspurts
Summary: Hermione and Ginny discuss crushes, the Yule Ball, and relationships in the days leading up to and the moments after the ball itself.  A look into their friendship.
Relationships: Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger/Viktor Krum, Michael Corner/Ginny Weasley
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	The Yule Ball

**Author's Note:**

> Just my own head cannon from Ginny's perspective that includes the friendship she and Hermione share that was alluded to in the books.
> 
> The books indicate that Ginny did indeed know that Hermione was going with Viktor Krum before anyone else - so I wanted to work around that for a bit.
> 
> None of the characters are my own - Cheers!

It had started out as a joke. Harmless really, not even funny by Ginny’s own standards. But a quick jab to lighten the mood for a conversation that had gotten a bit too heavy for Ginny’s taste.

She and Hermione had been sitting on Ginny’s bed in her dormitory, a comfortable and familiar occurrence for the two girls. Ginny was flipping through a well worn and already read over muggle magazine that Hermione had brought to the Burrow that summer. She liked the magazine. It didn’t have the same moving pictures or cluttered words of Witch Weekly, but there was some magic to it on it’s own. The women in it were beautiful. Tall, much taller than Ginny herself if she had to guess, and they had an elegance to them. The way they held their bodies, how their faces sometimes played with brilliant bright smiles, but other times cast deep, contemplative looks. She liked the articles, the trivial and yet foreign nature of them. She especially liked the clothing. Robes were either baggy or came with uncomfortable corsets. Her own muggle clothing felt simple: Jeans - standard. Jumpers - standard. Trainers - standard. Dresses - standard. These women were wearing clothing so varied she wondered how they could possibly pick anything. Heeled shoes and combat boots, baggy cargo pants and cut off jean shorts, tank tops and tight dresses that weren’t quite racy, but left little to the imagination. They mixed patterns and cuts in ways that made sense, not in the odd assortments they had seen at the World Cup. 

Hermione had been complaining about the girls at school and their frantic behavior since the announcement of the Yule Ball. Parvati and Lavender had been especially annoying, so Hermione was in Ginny’s room replaying a rant that Ginny had heard multiple times in the past few days. 

“I mean _honestly_ , it’s just a dance.” Ginny could tell Hermione was winding down from her rant, it was safer to speak once she had already gotten most of her points across.

“To you maybe. At least you get to go. I imagine they like the whimsy of it… I’m not even sure if they can spell whimsy come to think.”

Hermione snorted. Ginny flipped through her magazine, dog earring a page labeled “Glamorous Grunge” wondering if she could recreate the look by stealing an old flannel shirt from Fred or George and making an old pair of Ron’s jean into cutoffs. 

“I’m glad we’ve become close Ginny, it’s a bit like having a sister. I don’t… I don’t get along with other girls as well, so I’m really happy we’re friends.”

Ginny kept flipping, but stopped comprehending what she was looking at in the magazine. She felt herself begin to blush. She was happy to be friends with Hermione as well, saw her as an older sister herself, but words were harder for Ginny than jokes, so, she went with a joke.

“We might as well make it official then, eh? Bring a muggle wedding mag over next time and we can plan your wedding to one of my brothers.” She tossed the magazine and looked up, expecting a laugh, instead, she heard an odd choking noise and was greeted with a wide eyed, blushing Hermione. 

A moment of realization. 

“Shut up.” Ginny felt her eyes widen and an astonished grin replace her own blush.

Hermione looked trapped. This was amazing. 

“Spill!” 

Hermione didn’t say anything. Just blushed deeper. 

“Hermione… which brother?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about” Hermione replied, a little too quickly.

“Oh come off it. You literally just choked on nothing! The potion’s out of the cauldron now.” Hermione still said nothing. 

Ginny tried a different angle, “It’s only fair really. I mean you know all about Harry. In fact you’ve been quite helpful in that department, I haven’t dropped food on myself in front of him for weeks….” Ginny thought a joke at her own expense might clear the air, giving Hermione a chance to come clean. Hermione remained quiet.

“Come on, Hermione, just tell me. I could be quite helpful you know, who better to help you bag a Weasley, than a Weasley?” she winked.

Hermione opened her mouth, then closed it. Progress. 

“I could probably hazard a guess, or six.” Hermione scrunched her nose up as if this would somehow be worse than just admitting it outright.

“It’s the hair, isn’t it?” Ginny winked, and primped her own locks with one hand. This earned her a laugh. 

“You’re going to tease me.” Hermione finally answered finally. 

“Yes. Well you clearly have poor taste.” Hermione winced and Ginny felt her smile drop, “Oh come on Hermione. I won’t, not really. Take the mickey at my brother’s expenses, absolutely. But not yours. If I joke it’s to keep things lighter, not to ridicule you. You’ve always been there for me when it comes to Harry, why not let me be there for you when it comes to…” She paused, then took a shot in the dark, “George?”

“Ron.” Hermione corrected, averting her eyes. It was Ginny’s turn to choke on nothing. 

“Really? You two get on like Scabbers and Crookshanks….. oh…. Merlin… it does make sense…. you two bicker like an old married couple.”

Hermione blushed deeper. Ginny could kick herself. She needed to drop the jokes for a second and be there for her friend. Silence fell for a moment as she tried to reel herself in. 

“… He’ll be a lucky bloke once he figures it out, Hermione.”

Hermione looked up, she wasn’t crying, but her eyes did look shiny, “You think so?”

“Of course I do. Any boy would be lucky to have you, you’re beautiful, you’re brilliant, and when he finally figures it out we’ll get to be sisters for real.

Hermione smiled, “I don’t now about beautiful -“

“I do.” Ginny left it at that, Hermione was not one for pandering and Ginny was not one to pander. They sat in silence for a moment, letting the secret settle over them.

“I- I was hoping maybe he’d ask me to the ball actually…”

Ginny stayed quiet for a moment, the joke was on her lips and she was dying to let it free. She looked at Hermione who no longer seemed embarrassed and let it fly, “I hope he asks you, but I’m really sorry about those horrid dress robes.”

The girls broke into giggles at that, then true laughter. The silence that followed was comfortable, but still a little heavy, laden with something left unsaid. Ginny pressed her luck, “There’s something else… isn’t there?” Hermione looked caught again, she really was having a bad day, “Come on, out with it, sister-in-law.”

“Well… it’s not really a thing anymore… but… first year….” Hermione stopped, her blush had returned with a vengeance. 

Realization dawned again, “PERCY?!?!” 

Hermione winced and nodded.

Ginny snorted, “You want to have him inspect your cauldron bottom, Granger?” She waggled her eyebrows. The girls dissolved into laughter again, lighter and freer than before. 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

A few days later Hermione hunted Ginny down in the corridor and pushed her into a classroom, “Hey, what gives Hermione?!”

“I just got asked to the ball!” Hermione didn’t exactly look gleeful, she looked shocked.

“The git figured it out?!”

“What?”

“Ron, he figured it out, he asked you.”

Hermione blushed, “No, no it wasn’t Ron… Ginny you can’t tell anyone.”

“Hermione, everyone is going to figure it out at the Ball, why are you trying to keep it a secret?”

Hermione paused, appraised Ginny, “You can’t tell anyone…because it was Viktor Krum.”

Ginny felt her mouth drop open into shock, then a huge smile pulled at her lips at the same time. She imaged she looked somewhat cartoonish but she couldn’t help herself. Hermione stayed quiet, she looked tentative, as if Ginny was going to laugh or tease or accuse her of lying. 

“Well what are you waiting for?! Tell me everything!”

The exchange between them was quick, practiced.

“Well I was studying in the library -“

“Of course -“

“-And he came and sat down and said he’d been watching me -“

“Bit creepy -“

“-And trying to pluck up the courage to talk to me.”

“Yes you’re very intimidating - “

“-And then he told me I was beautiful“

“Which you are - “

“-And then he just asked me!”

A beat of silence. 

“Your first conversation. With Viktor Krum. An INTERNATIONAL QUIDDITCH STAR. And he asks you to a Ball.”

“Yes.” Hermione answered breathlessly.

“… can I help you get ready?”

The girls giggled in a way that would disgust the both of them normally, and hugged. 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Ginny was making her way back up to her dorm, her feet hurt, her legs were sore, and she had had a wonderful time. True, Neville hadn’t been the romantic date she had hope for, and true, her hopes had been slightly dashed when her brother had suggested Harry go with her only hours after she had said yes to Neville, but she had to hand it to him - he had been a blast as a date. He had stepped on her feet and stumbled when he danced, but he wanted to dance and didn’t mind when Ginny danced with other boys while he got them drinks or rested for a bit. Michael Corner, a boy from Ravenclaw, had asked her to dance more than once. Ginny wondered idly if she would see him again, he was quite good looking. 

She had noticed Harry sitting with Ron and the Patil twins for most of the night and while she was glad her date had wanted to participate more in the festivities than Harry had, she couldn’t help but feel a little regretful that it was Parvati on his arm instead of her. This feeling was second only to the lead ball that had settled in her stomach when Harry confided that he had asked Cho Chang at first.

Cho. Chang.

She could not imagine a girl less like herself. Cho played Quidditch yes, but Harry didn’t know that was one of Ginny’s favorite talents. He’d never seen her fly, much less play. Aside from that, Cho was girly to Ginny’s tom boy, dark black sleek hair to Ginny’s violent red, clear fair skin to Ginny’s freckles. She was a wasp of a girl where as Ginny, who was by no means fat, had tone to her body, thicker legs and tone to her arms, a chasers build to Cho’s seeker physique. 

It wasn’t just that he had asked another girl. No, he had asked a girl so unlike Ginny herself that she could feel her hopes slipping away like water in her palm. 

She trudged up the final steps into her dorm and was thankful it was empty. She had been the only girl in her year to pull a date to the ball and had the dorm to herself for the rest of break. She had begun to pull at the pins in her hair when the door burst open and Hermione stormed in, hair beginning to fall from the twist she and Ginny had worked so hard to create, red in the face, tears shining down her face.

“What the _hell_ did Viktor Krum do?!” Ginny jumped up, reaching for her wand, ready to storm to the Durmstrang ship and hex him into the next millennia.

Hermione stood in the doorway, then slumped onto the nearest bed, and began to cry in earnest.

“Shit.” Ginny said under her breath, she was not prepared to handle something serious like this. She closed the space and sat on the bed next to Hermione, cautiously put an arm on her shoulder, she didn’t know how to handle this.

“Hermione, please, whatever it is, it’s going to be ok. I can go get Professor McGonagall, international Quidditch star or not he can’t - “

“What?” Hermione looked up at her, cheeks tearstained, quizzical look in her eyes.

“Erm… did he… did he try something?”

“What? No! Not Viktor, Ron.”

“WHAT?!”

“No Ginny, no, it’s nothing like that.” She gave a great shuddering sigh, “Thank you though.”

“Hermione, what the hell happened?”

“Ron. He screamed at me. At the ball, and just now. Accused me of betraying Harry, said that Viktor only wanted to go on a date with me to get information.” She spoke through shuddering gasps.

“That foul useless good for nothing -“

“Git” Hermione finished, and let out another sob.

“Oh Hermione,” Ginny pulled her into a half hug, “Don’t let him ruin your night, you looked so happy.”

“I was,” she whispered. “It was… nice.”

“You looked beautiful.”

“I felt beautiful. Viktor was the perfect gentleman. Who, according to Ron, is using me.”

“Yes, well, Ron’s an idoit and he has ugly dress robes.”

Hermione give a wet half laugh half sob, “We didn’t even talk about the Tournament. Not once, the entire night. He’s interesting and intelligent. It should have been perfect.”

Ginny let a silence fall for a moment, let Hermione collect herself for a bit.

“Hermione…” she hesitated, she understood what it felt like to have a crush. The word was quite fitting if she really thought about it, she often felt crushed by Harry. Crushed when he asked Cho Chang to the ball. Crushed when he seemed to not even notice she was there. “I know you like Ron, but it sounds like your date with Krum went really well. Don’t let my idiot of a brother ruin that for you, you deserve to have someone treat you well, and I don’t know that Ron -“

“He’s my friend. I know we fight but he doesn’t treat me poorly…”

“You’re crying, Hermione. My brother made you cry. He wasn’t even your date. We should be up here talking about how good of a snog Viktor Krum is and instead you’re crying because of Ron. That’s not being treated well.”

“I think he was jealous…” she whispered.

“Probably. Every man in that room was jealous of Krum tonight.”

Hermione scoffed, “Really Ginny, I even… well I sort of accused him of being so.”

Ginny felt her eyebrows raise, she didn’t say anything.

“I told him if he was really that upset then he should asked me himself early rather than as a last resort.”

“Did you really?” Hermione just nodded, she looked down at her lap and began wringing her hands slightly.

“Good for you, Hermione. He deserved to be called out after implying anything other than that you _deserved_ this night. You looked beautiful. You had the most eligible boy on your arm. Don’t let my brother ruin this for you because he couldn’t even bring up the nerve to ask a girl properly. Harry had to get his date for him.”

“He, he doesn’t even think of me as a girl. You heard him.”

“Yes, well, he’s a dumber than a blast ended skrewt isn’t he?”

“He’s not dumb.”

“Could have fooled me. He stupidly asked Fleur Delacour to go with him.”

“Yes well, she’s beautiful and I’m - “

“Beautiful. Gorgeous.” Ginny interrupted, unwilling to let her brother’s arrogant comments steal any more joy from Hermione’s evening, “You looked stunning tonight Hermione.”

“That was just dress up, I don’t usually - “

“And Viktor Krum picked you.” Ginny ducked her head slightly, trying to meet Hermione’s eyes which were still trained on her hands in her lap, “He picked the you at the library, in school robes, not that beautiful dress. You’re always stunning, and I won’t hear a word to the contrary. You are fresh off a date from Viktor Krum, crying over a stupid boy with ugly dress robes.”

Hermione sobbed another laugh, but her eyes looked much drier.

“Now then, I don’t want to talk about how Ron threw a tantrum. I want to hear about Krum.” Ginny paused, grinning, and playfully shoved Hermione’s shoulder slightly, “You didn’t deny it when I brought up that he was a good snog...”

Hermione looked up at Ginny through her eyelashes, a small smile played on her lips and a slight blush rose on her cheeks. Ginny wondered just how those curls came loose from the knot they had worked so hard at arranging and smirked. 

“Spill!” Ginny prompted. 

“Yes, we kissed.”

“…. and?”

“It was rather… intense.”

Ginny snorted and reached up, tugging at a loose curl, “Looks like it.”

Hermione brought a hand up to her hair and threw her head back in laughter.

“Intense is… good?”

“Yes. It was very nice. It started out as just a soft peck really. He kissed me and then pulled away. Then he kissed me again maybe a little more firmly. Then the next thing I knew we were pressed against a wall, snogging.”

Ginny felt her eyebrows raise and her eyes widen, “Go Hermione” she replied in a sing song voice. “Will you see him again?”

“Yes,” Hermione sighed, “I think so. I really did have a lovely time with him.”

Ginny bumped Hermione’s shoulder with her own, “Good, Hermione, I’m glad.”

“How was your ball?”

Ginny thought for a moment. She half wanted to confide her heartbreak at seeing Harry pine over Cho, to receive a little assurance that there was still a chance even though Ginny could see how different she and Cho were, could see her hopes at having Harry even look her way evaporate away. But, Hermione already had one Weasley steal the spotlight on what should have been a perfect date, she didn’t want to add to the distraction from what sounded like an absolutely steamy snog with Viktor Krum. 

“I had a lot of fun. Neville was a really great date.”

“That’s good Ginny, but who was that other boy I kept seeing you with?”

Ginny blushed slightly, “Only you would pick up on something like that in the middle of your date with an international Quidditch star.”

“Yes, well, every time I saw you, you were either dancing with him, or he was very close by, watching you.”

“His name is Michael. We danced a bit.”

“You danced a lot, he seemed absolutely smitten.”

Ginny laughed, “Yes, he seemed very interested in me. He was nice.”

Hermione pondered a moment. “Maybe, maybe you should give him a chance, Ginny.”

Ginny gave Hermione a sidelong glance but said nothing. 

“I mean, a date with Viktor seemed to knock it into Ron’s thick skull that I am, in fact, a girl. Maybe… well… maybe dating some other boys might open Harry’s eyes up as well.”

“I don’t want to date a boy just to make Harry jealous. Seems a bit unfair don’t you think.”

“Maybe, yes, I suppose it does. But, you had fun didn’t you? You think he’s cute?”

“Yes...” Ginny answered cautiously, “he’s cute.”

“And were you thinking about Harry when you were dancing with Michael?”

Ginny thought for a moment, “No. No, I suppose I wasn’t.”

“Well… maybe you should consider him Ginny, Michael I mean. Consider seeing him again.”

“What, to make Harry jealous?”

“No, but it might help you to get your mind off of him, help you relax a bit around him even if you have another boy to think about.”

“I don’t know, Hermione.” Ginny answered skeptically, “It still seems unfair to me.”

“Well, I didn’t go with Viktor to make Ron jealous, I went with Viktor because I wanted to. Because he seemed cute and because he was interested. And I had a nice time with him, I even forgot about Ron for a while until he decided to scream at me. Maybe… I dunno… maybe dating other boys would be a good idea either way. Let you have fun, let you think about someone other than Harry for a bit.” 

“So… you think I should give up?” Ginny tried to hide her insecurity, this all lined up too closely to her own thoughts comparing herself to Cho. She prayed Hermione, ever observant, didn’t pick up on it because she didn’t think she could stand that conversation.

“No… I don’t suppose I’ve completely given up on Ron. Maybe I’ve just given up on Ron for right now. I’ll give him time to figure things out and I’ll spend my time with a cute boy whose company I enjoy.”

“And whose a good kisser?” Ginny quipped.

Hermione blushed, “Yes. He’s that too. But, I’m allowed to have a crush on more than one boy at once. And I’m allowed to spend my time with a boy who treats me well. You said it yourself.”

“And I am always right.”

Hermione scoffed, “I think, if Michael asks you out, you should consider it. You looked like you were having a great time. So… go have a great time.”

Ginny pondered for a moment. Hermione was right, she did have a good time with Michael, so good that she didn’t think about Harry, so good it seemed that she had a better time than Harry did, a better time than Harry’s date.”

“Maybe I will.”

Hermione beamed at her, “Alright then. Anyway, I’m off to bed, I need to get these pins out of my hair, they’re giving me a headache.”

“You sure it’s not just that being pressed against a wall pushed them a little too far in?” Ginny smirked and winked.

“Shut it. I’ll see you in the morning.”


End file.
